In 1830 Ralph Dodge bought a farm of 300 acres (which had originally been granted to George Wise) from Henry Hopkins (shopkeeper) and John Walker (miller), both of Hobart Town. According to the records he paid 100 pounds but a letter from the Archives Office states that he gave a weatherboard house he owned in Goulburn Street in exchange for the farm.
‘Ferry Farm’ at Dodges Ferry, built 1832
Ralph built a house with bricks hand-made on the property known as Ferry Farm because he saw the need to provide a ferry service for the settlers of the district. He rowed customers from the foreshore of his property across to the opposite sandy point of Seven Mile Beach. His boats were brought into a natural sandstone landing in front of the farm and the service gave the settlers an easier and faster route to Hobart Town.
The house stands at the end of what is now Fourth Avenue, Dodges Ferry and has been extensively renovated in recent years.